2007 Lincoln Navigator Review

For a while I had a hero., Peter Horbury. Peter is Ford’s
Executive Director of Design in North America and in charge of car and
truck design at Ford Motor Company as of 2006. Almost his first duty was to
introduce and praise the appearance of a vehicle he had little control
over, the new Lincoln Navigator.

I thought that chrome-front Navy Blue Navigator looked like a warmed
over ’97 Tahoe Police Special and did not agree. After spending one
full week with a Navigator equipped with the Ultimate package, plus seeing
several on the road I’ve moderated my tune. It helped immensely that
my test truck was painted a handsome shade of White Chocolate that
complimented the newly designed chrome egg crate grille, and that it did
not arrive equipped with the thankfully optional “maximum
bling” chromed nose and lower air intake.

Lincoln’s 2007 Navigator isn’t new, but is so heavily
revised it might as well be. Exteriors and interiors are new, its
powertrain increases mileage, and changes to the Independent Rear
Suspension make room for a new third row of seats.

Navigator’s controversial new exterior features additional chrome
on the front, sides, rear end. This year, the signature egg crate grille is
chromed. An optional trim panel on the newly sculpted power dome hood, plus
more chrome on the lower air intake may please a few buyers. I think
Lincoln’s more modest Monochrome Package is the better choice for the
front end; it leaves all but the grille body colored.

High Intensity Discharge headlamps appear a wrap-around extension of the
grille and are standard. Lincoln designers say, “They are no longer
just headlights, but industrial jewelry…” For 2007, optional
foldout running boards are body colored and capable of supporting in excess
of 300 pounds. I noticed that, after opening a rear door to toss in my gym
bag, the running boards remained deployed long enough to enter the front
door without cycling twice. A nice feature.

Navigator continues to use Ford’s 5.4-liter Triton V8 with 300
horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque. This engine now runs on 87-octane fuel
and is mated to a 6-speed automatic with a two overdrive gears, fifth and
sixth, for increased mileage. Lincoln claims a 7% improvement in fuel
economy “compared to a typical 4-speed transmission.” You can
go a long way in Navigator; fuel tank size is 28 gallons for Navigator, or
33.5 gallons for the new Navigator L.

This year the chassis has improved stiffness thanks to Ford’s
now-familiar tube-through-tube ladder frame, pioneered on Ford Explorer.
This design offers greater room in the rear for both an independent rear
suspension and a wider third seat. By using this design the frame is almost
straight at the rear instead of looping up over a solid axle. Now rear
half-shafts power the rear wheels by penetrating the frame rails through
“portholes,” or tubes cut and welded into the frame rails. (The
previous frame dates from 2003 when Navigator introduced IRS.) For 2007 an
all-new five-link Independent Rear Suspension uses short and long arms to
control lateral (side-to-side) forces, the fifth link controls fore/aft
movement. Coil-over dampers (shock absorbers) are fitted to all models
while 18 mm, 19, mm, or 21 mm rear stabilizer bars are used depending on
model chosen. The front suspension is a carryover double wishbone Short and
Long Arm design with coil-over dampers and 36 mm stabilizer bar.

As we said, the new rear suspension design permits a wider third row
seat with comfort Lincoln says is equal to second-row comfort levels. We
filled our test model with six adults, four of above-average size. That
meant the two average sized passengers had to ride in the “kids
seat.” Navigator’s generous 37.7” of legroom gave me and
another adult a roomy and comfortable bench seat with nearly upright
posture. The standard seating configuration is 2nd row bucket seats and
bench seat for the 3rd row, the option for fold-flat 60/40 3rd row seats
includes an option for Ford’s PowerFold™ seats or
PowerFold™ third row combined with 40/20/40 second row bench
seats.

If you’re interested in convenience, the power lift, power lower
third row combined with Navigator’s power liftgate option is truly
handy. During a snowstorm I could push a button and have the hatch opened
by the time I got around to the groceries stored behind the third row
seats. Then I could push the “close” button (D pillar or key
fob) and walk away laden with armloads of groceries and listen to the hatch
close and lock behind me.

Peter’s team, the same folks who originated Navigator’s
signature interior, got a second chance to express their talents, this time
with an increased emphasis on quietness. Creating quietness started with 1
mm thicker side window and special acoustic glass in the front window.
Additional noise dampening was added to headliner and dashboard and
carpeting has additional padding to reduce tire and road noise.

The 2007 instrument panel houses an instrument cluster that reminds me
of classic mid-80’s Lincoln Continentals and their rectangular
instruments. Newly designed secondary gauges are set in a way that
designers’ say resembles rectangular eyewear. Its row of secondary
gauges—battery, fuel, temperature, etc—top the speedometer and
tachometer, separated by a user-changeable information display (timer,
odometer, miles-to-empty, etc.)

Leather seats are seemingly obligatory on luxury vehicles these days,
though in Michigan weather they are hot in summer and icy-cold in winter.
Navigator can heat and cool the seats, if you wish. These leather seats
adjust 10-ways for driver and front passenger and fit 4’ 10” to
6’ 5” drivers and passengers with sizes from 90-350 pounds,
according to Lincoln. Seat designers focused on immediate softness of
sensation while maintaining comfort over long drives. It works, at least
for the 80-90 mile trips I took. Though lacking the lateral support of
sports sedans, they are roomy and comfortable. Seat heaters rapidly warmed
our posteriors on seven sub-freezing mornings.

Another luxury hallmark is wooden accents. Navigator offers Dark Ebony
or Anigre woods against Charcoal, Stone, or Camel interiors. If you want a
Camel interior it will always have Anigre wood accents. The wood is real,
and laser cut and “booked” or side-to-side matched for true
luxury appearance. The interior theme Navigator initiated, satin platinum
trim and signature soft blue-white lighting, continues and has gravitated
to other Lincoln products.

One of the nicest enhancements, part of the Elite Package including the
power running boards, is a 600-Watt THX ®II certified 6-disc CD changer
with 14 speakers, 3.5 mm auxiliary inputs, and Sirius satellite radio. The
auxiliary 3.5 mm connection lets you hook up your iPod (if not yet control
its functions) or other MP3 player and the sound system is awesomely
accurate.

On one of our longer trips, two back seat passengers enjoyed the rear
DVD with 8” screen and wireless headsets. Actually, I’d
misplaced the headsets and adjusted the audio to rear only. Don’t
forget the headphones or you’ll be stuck listening to a movie you
can’t see.

Lincoln’s DVD navigation system comes from Pioneer and includes
steering wheel-controlled voice activation for its 6.5” touch screen.
This navigation system provides text-to-speech conversion and can speak its
directions in three languages. I really prefer the way it offers street
names in spoken directions, like “Left in 500 feet on Michigan
Avenue.” Comparatively, most systems mention only distance to the
next direction. On some off ramps, at multiple street intersections, and in
compact suburban neighborhoods having street names spoken is quite
helpful.

Soon I’ll be driving an Expedition EL, sibling to the Navigator L
that went on sale in January. Both are 14.7 inches longer than Navigator
(or Expedition) with a 131.0” vs. 119.0” wheelbase and overall
length of 223.3” versus 208.4” compared to Navigator.

Our weeklong test proved Navigator to be extremely quiet and easy to
drive. It feels connected to the road and steering effort has a nice heft
without being heavy or overly sensitive. Overall, it’s more fun to
drive than many sedans we’ve driven. For 2007 the interior is
considerably improved in fit and finish and there were no complaints about
the older model.

A big factor for many families and businesses is the comfort of second
and third row seats. Those who rode in the second or third row seats said
they were comfortable, roomy and satisfactory for long drives. I’m
one of those passengers and I agree.